Formation of pure silicon oxide interfacial layer on silicon-germanium channel field effect transistor device

ABSTRACT

Methods are provided to form pure silicon oxide layers on silicon-germanium (SiGe) layers, as well as an FET device having a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer of a metal gate structure formed on a SiGe channel layer of the FET device. For example, a method comprises growing a first silicon oxide layer on a surface of a SiGe layer using a first oxynitridation process, wherein the first silicon oxide layer comprises nitrogen. The first silicon oxide layer is removed, and a second silicon oxide layer is grown on the surface of the SiGe layer using a second oxynitridation process, which is substantially the same as the first oxynitridation process, wherein the second silicon oxide layer is substantially devoid of germanium oxide and nitrogen. For example, the first silicon oxide layer comprises a SiON layer and the second silicon oxide layer comprises a pure silicon dioxide layer.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to semiconductor fabricationtechniques and, in particular, techniques for fabricating FET (fieldeffect transistor) devices.

BACKGROUND

One of the promising dual channel CMOS (complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor) integrations schemes for current and futuretechnology nodes is to utilize tensile-strained silicon (Si) channelsfor n-type FET (field effect transistor) devices and to utilizecompressively-strained silicon-germanium (SiGe) channels for p-type FETdevices. The use of SiGe channels for p-type MOSFET devices is known toenhance the carrier (hole) mobility as compared to Si alone. For CMOStechnologies, silicon dioxide (SiO₂) has traditionally been used as thegate dielectric for MOSFET devices. As the dimensions of MOSFET devicescontinue to shrink, however, the thickness of the SiO₂ gate dielectriclayer must also decrease to maintain the requisite capacitance betweenthe control gate and channel. However, the scaling of SiO₂ gatedielectric layers (e.g., 2 nm or less) poses problems in that leakagecurrent through the gate dielectric increases exponentially with thedecrease in the thickness of the gate dielectric. As such, high-k gatedielectrics have been utilized in place of SiO₂ to enable thicker gatedielectric layers to reduce leakage, while allowing scaling down of theEOT (equivalent oxide thickness) of the gate dielectric.

The use of high-k gate dielectric materials is problematic in that suchdielectric materials typically do not interface well with siliconlayers. For example, high-k gate dielectric materials do not passivate asilicon surface, which results in a large number of interface traps andcharges and other issues which can degrade device performance. As such,high-k dielectric gate materials are often used in conjunction with athin interfacial silicon oxide layer which provides an interface betweenthe silicon channel layer and the high-k gate dielectric layer. However,the optimization of a silicon oxide interfacial layer between a high-kdielectric layer and a SiGe channel layer is non-trivial due to thecomplexity arising from the coexistence of Si and Ge interfacial oxides.

For example, SiGe channel FETs are known to have a high interface trapcharge (Nit) at the interface between the interfacial layer and thesurface of the SiGe channel layer, which might be attributed toundesired formation of germanium oxide (GeO_(x)). The resulting mixedSiO_(x)/GeO_(x) interface causes large interface trap densities due todistorted Ge—O bonds across the interface. While nitridation of thesilicon oxide layer is known to be effective to suppress GeO_(x)formation, the nitridation of silicon oxide is also problematic in thatthe nitridation of the silicon oxide causes an increase in the interfacetrap charge density and mobility degradation. The presence of defectivehigh-k/SiGe interfaces limits the performance of SiGe-channel FETdevices.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include methods to form a pure siliconoxide layer on a SiGe layer, as well as SiGe-channel FET devicescomprising a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer of a metal gatestructure formed on a SiGe channel layer of the FET device.

For example, one embodiment includes a method for fabricating asemiconductor device, which comprises: growing a first silicon oxidelayer on a first surface region of a SiGe layer using a firstoxynitridation process, wherein the first silicon oxide layer comprisesnitrogen; removing the first silicon oxide layer from the SiGe layer;and growing a second silicon oxide layer on the first surface region ofthe SiGe layer using a second oxynitridation process, which issubstantially the same as the first oxynitridation process, wherein thesecond silicon oxide layer is substantially devoid of germanium oxideand nitrogen. In one embodiment, the first silicon oxide layer comprisesa silicon oxynitride (SiON) layer that is grown on the first surfaceregion of the SiGe layer, and the second silicon oxide layer comprises apure silicon dioxide layer that is grown on the first surface region ofthe SiGe layer channel layer of a FET (field effect transistor) device.

Another embodiment includes a method for fabricating a semiconductordevice. The method includes forming a dummy gate structure on a SiGechannel layer of a FET device, and performing a RMG (replacement metalgate) process which comprises removing the dummy gate structure from theSiGe channel layer, and forming a metal gate structure on the SiGechannel layer. The dummy gate structure is formed by a process whichcomprises: growing a dummy silicon oxide layer on a surface of the SiGechannel layer using a first oxynitridation process, wherein the dummysilicon oxide layer comprises nitrogen; and forming a dummy gateelectrode layer over the dummy silicon oxide layer. The metal gatestructure is formed on the SiGe channel layer by a process whichcomprises: growing an interfacial silicon oxide layer on the surface ofSiGe channel layer using a second oxynitridation process, which issubstantially the same as the first oxynitridation process, wherein theinterfacial silicon oxide layer is substantially devoid of germaniumoxide and nitrogen; forming a high-k dielectric layer on the interfacialsilicon oxide layer, wherein k is greater than 4; and forming a metalgate electrode layer on the high-k dielectric layer. In one embodiment,the dummy silicon oxide layer comprises a SiON layer grown on the SiGechannel layer, and the interfacial silicon oxide layer comprises a puresilicon dioxide layer grown on the surface of the SiGe channel layer.

Another embodiment includes a semiconductor device. The semiconductordevice comprises a FET device formed on a semiconductor substrate. TheFET device comprises a SiGe channel layer, and a metal gate structureformed on the SiGe channel layer. The metal gate structure comprises: aninterfacial silicon oxide layer grown on a surface of the SiGe channellayer using a oxynitridation process, wherein the interfacial siliconoxide layer is substantially devoid of germanium oxide and nitrogen; ahigh-k dielectric layer formed on the interfacial silicon oxide layer,wherein k is greater than 4; and a metal gate electrode layer formedover the high-k dielectric layer. In one embodiment, the interfacialsilicon oxide layer comprises a pure silicon dioxide layer.

Other embodiments will be described in the following detaileddescription of embodiments, which is to be read in conjunction with theaccompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic cross-sectional side view of a semiconductor devicecomprising a SiGe-channel FET device according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 2 through 13 schematically illustrate a method for fabricating thesemiconductor device of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of theinvention, wherein:

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the semiconductor device of FIG. 1 atan intermediate stage of fabrication after forming shallow trenchisolation regions on a semiconductor substrate;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 2 after sequentially forming a first silicon oxidelayer, a second silicon oxide layer, and a polysilicon layer on thesemiconductor substrate;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 3 after patterning the polysilicon layer to form agate poly layer of a dummy gate structure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 4 after etching the first and second silicon oxidelayers using the gate poly layer as an etch mask to form dummy oxidelayers of the dummy gate structure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 5 after forming first and second source/drain regionsin the semiconductor substrate adjacent the dummy gate structure;

FIG. 7 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 6 after forming insulating spacers on sidewalls of thedummy gate structure;

FIG. 8 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 7 after forming silicide layers on the first andsecond source/drain regions;

FIG. 9 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 8 after depositing and planarizing a layer ofinsulating material;

FIG. 10 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 9 after removing the dummy gate structure as part of areplacement metal gate process to form a recess between the insulatingsidewall spacers;

FIG. 11 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 10 after forming a silicon oxide layer on a surface ofthe SiGe channel region of the FET device;

FIG. 12 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 11 after depositing a conformal layer of gatedielectric material and a conformal layer of work function metal to forma high-k metal gate stack structure; and

FIG. 13 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 12 after depositing a layer of metallic material tofill a recess between the insulating sidewall spacers to form a metalgate electrode layer.

FIGS. 14A and 14B schematically illustrate a semiconductor devicecomprising a SiGe-channel FinFET device according to another embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will now be described in further detail with regard tomethods for forming a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer on a SiGechannel of an FET device, as well as SiGe channel FET devices that areformed using such methods. It is to be understood that the variouslayers, structures, and regions shown in the accompanying drawings areschematic illustrations that are not drawn to scale. In addition, forease of explanation, one or more layers, structures, and regions of atype commonly used to form semiconductor devices or structures may notbe explicitly shown in a given drawing. This does not imply that anylayers, structures, and regions not explicitly shown are omitted fromthe actual semiconductor structures.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the embodiments discussedherein are not limited to the particular materials, features, andprocessing steps shown and described herein. In particular, with respectto semiconductor processing steps, it is to be emphasized that thedescriptions provided herein are not intended to encompass all of theprocessing steps that may be required to form a functional semiconductorintegrated circuit device. Rather, certain processing steps that arecommonly used in forming semiconductor devices, such as, for example,wet cleaning and annealing steps, are purposefully not described hereinfor economy of description.

Moreover, the same or similar reference numbers are used throughout thedrawings to denote the same or similar features, elements, orstructures, and thus, a detailed explanation of the same or similarfeatures, elements, or structures will not be repeated for each of thedrawings. It is to be understood that the terms “about” or“substantially” as used herein with regard to thicknesses, widths,percentages, ranges, etc., are meant to denote being close orapproximate to, but not exactly. For example, the term “about” or“substantially” as used herein implies that a small margin of error maybe present, such as 1% or less than the stated amount.

FIG. 1 is schematic cross-sectional side view of a semiconductor device100 comprising a SiGe-channel FET device according to an embodiment ofthe invention. In particular, the semiconductor device 100 comprises asemiconductor substrate 110 and a SiGe channel FET device 120 formed onthe semiconductor substrate 110. The semiconductor substrate 110comprises shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 112 to isolate the FETdevice 120 from adjacent active device regions formed on thesemiconductor substrate 110. The FET device 120 comprises a firstsource/drain region 122, a second source/drain region 124, and a SiGechannel region 126, which are formed as part of the substrate 110. TheFET device 120 further comprises silicide contacts 122-1 and 124-1formed on the respective first and second source/drain regions 122 and124, a gate structure 130 formed on the SiGe channel region 126, andinsulating spacers 140 disposed on sidewalls of the gate structure 130.The semiconductor device 100 further comprises an insulating layer 150(e.g., a PMD (pre-metal dielectric) layer)). The gate structure 130comprises a silicon oxide interfacial layer 132, a high-k metal gatestack structure 134/136, and a metal gate electrode layer 138. Thehigh-k metal gate stack structure 134/136 comprises a high-k dielectriclayer 134 and a work function metal layer 136.

As explained in further detail below, in one embodiment of theinvention, the gate structure 130 is formed as part of a RMG(replacement metal gate) process flow which is configured to enableformation of a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer 132 on the SiGechannel region 126, wherein the pure silicon oxide interfacial layer 132is substantially devoid of nitrogen (N) and GeO_(x) material. The puresilicon oxide interfacial layer 132 is formed by a process whichgenerally comprises growing a first silicon oxide layer (e.g., dummygate oxide layer) on the surface of the SiGe channel region 126 using afirst oxynitridation process, wherein the first silicon oxide layercomprises germanium oxide and nitrogen. The first silicon oxide layer isremoved from the surface of the SiGe channel region 126, and theinterfacial silicon oxide layer 132 is formed by growing the interfacialsilicon oxide layer 132 on the surface of the SiGe channel region 126using a second oxynitridation process, which is the same orsubstantially the same as the first oxynitridation process, to form apure silicon oxide interfacial layer which is substantially devoid ofgermanium oxide and nitrogen.

The second oxide layer (e.g., pure silicon oxide layer 132) that isformed on the SiGe channel region 126 serves as a silicon oxideinterfacial layer between the SiGe channel region 126 and the high-kgate dielectric layer 134 of the gate structure 130. As explained infurther detail below, the first (dummy) oxide layer is reactively grownusing a first oxynitridation process that effectively treats the surfaceof the SiGe channel region 126 in a way that essentially prevents theformation of GeO_(x) and prevents the incorporation of nitrogen withinthe pure silicon oxide interfacial layer 132 that is subsequently grownon the surface of the SiGe channel region 126 by performing the secondoxynitridation process, which is the same or substantially the same asthe first oxynitridation process.

Various methods for fabricating the semiconductor device 100 of FIG. 1will now be discussed in further detail with reference to FIGS. 2through 13, which schematically illustrate different stages of a processflow for fabricating the semiconductor device 100 of FIG. 1, accordingto an embodiment of the invention. To begin, FIG. 2 schematicallyillustrates the semiconductor device of FIG. 1 at an intermediate stageof fabrication after forming STI regions 112 on the semiconductorsubstrate 110. For ease of illustration, FIG. 2 shows one device region,which is defined by the STI regions 112, for the FET device 120 shown inFIG. 1. The semiconductor substrate 110 is illustrated as a genericsubstrate layer, and may comprise different types of semiconductorsubstrate structures.

For example, in one embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 110comprises a bulk semiconductor substrate formed of, e.g., silicon, orother types of semiconductor substrate materials that are commonly usedin bulk semiconductor fabrication processes such as germanium,silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbide, silicon-germanium carbidealloy, or compound semiconductor materials (e.g. III-V and II-VI).Non-limiting examples of compound semiconductor materials includegallium arsenide, indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. In anotherembodiment, the semiconductor substrate 110 comprises a SOI (silicon oninsulator) substrate, which comprises an insulating layer (e.g., oxidelayer) disposed between a base substrate layer (e.g., silicon substrate)and an active semiconductor layer (e.g., active Si or SiGe layer) inwhich the active circuit components are formed as part of a FEOL (frontend of line) structure.

For the bulk and SOI substrate embodiments, the SiGe channel region 126may comprise an active SiGe layer at the surface of the bulk or SOIsubstrate. For example, the SiGe channel region 126 may comprise acrystalline epitaxial SiGe layer that is grown on top of a bulk siliconsubstrate or a bulk germanium substrate. The crystalline SiGe layer canbe epitaxially grown using known techniques, such as CVD (chemical vapordeposition), MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition), LPCVD (lowpressure chemical vapor deposition), MBE (molecular beam epitaxy), VPE(vapor-phase epitaxy), MOMBE (metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy), orother known epitaxial growth techniques.

A crystalline SiGe layer that is formed using an epitaxial growthprocess may comprise a relaxed SiGe layer or a strained SiGe layer. Asis known in the art, strain engineering is utilized to enhance thecarrier mobility for MOS transistors, wherein different types of Si—SiGeheterostructures can be fabricated to obtain and/or optimize differentproperties for CMOS FET devices. For example, silicon can be epitaxiallygrown on a SiGe substrate layer to form a strained Si layer. Moreover, astrained SiGe layer can be epitaxially grown on silicon substrate layer.A strained-Si/relaxed-SiGe structure produces tensile strain whichprimarily improves electron mobility for n-type FET devices, while astrained-SiGe/relaxed-Si structure produces a compressive strain whichprimarily improves hole mobility for p-type FET devices.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the Ge content of aSiGe channel layer can be adjusted to achieve targetproperties/characteristics of the SiGe-channel FET device. For example,it is known that that a bandgap of a SiGe channel layer can be decreasedby increasing the Ge content of the silicon-germanium alloy, e.g., theband gap decreases from 1.12 eV (pure silicon) to 0.66 eV (puregermanium) at room temperature. In accordance with embodiments of theinvention as discussed herein, the Ge content of the SiGe channel region126 is in a range of about 20% to about 70%.

As noted above, the STI regions 112 are initially formed in the surfaceof the semiconductor substrate 110 to define device regions. The STIregions 112 can be formed using a standard technique which involves,e.g., etching a pattern of trenches in the surface of the substrate 110,depositing one or more insulating/dielectric materials (such siliconnitride, or silicon dioxide) to fill the trenches, and then removing theexcess insulating/dielectric material using a technique such aschemical-mechanical planarization (CMP). The STI regions 112 are formedto define a plurality of isolated device regions in which FETs accordingto embodiments of the invention are formed.

A next phase of the fabrication process comprises forming a dummy gatestructure using an exemplary process flow as schematically illustratedin FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. To begin, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectionalside view of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 2 after sequentiallyforming a first silicon oxide layer 162A, a second silicon oxide layer164A, and a polysilicon layer 166A on the semiconductor substrate 110.These layers 162A, 164A, and 166A are subsequently patterned to form adummy gate structure 160 (FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 3, the first silicon oxide layer 162A is formed on thesurface of the SiGe channel region 126 of the semiconductor substrate110. In one embodiment of the invention, the first silicon oxide layer162A comprises a silicon oxynitride (SiON) reacted layer that is formedby nitriding and oxidizing (referred to herein as “oxynitridation”) thesurface of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 2 to form an SiONlayer. In one embodiment, the oxynitridation process is performed byperforming a first rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in a gasmixture atmosphere comprising ammonia (NH₃), at a volumetric flow rateof about 5 slm (standard liter per minute), at a temperature in a rangeof about 600° C. to about 800° C., for a period of about 10 seconds toabout 60 seconds, and at a pressure in a range of about 100 Torr toabout 760 Torr. The first RTA process is followed by a second RTAprocess in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen (e.g., O₂ at avolumetric flow rate of about 1 slm, and N₂ at a volumetric flow rate ofabout 9 slm), at a temperature in a range of about 600° C. to about 800°C., for a period of about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, and at apressure in a range of about 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. The firstsilicon oxide layer 162A (e.g., SiON layer) is formed with a thicknessin a range of about 5 angstroms to about 20 angstroms.

The first silicon oxide layer 162A is subsequently patterned to form adummy gate oxide layer of the dummy gate structure 160 (FIG. 5). Whilethe dummy gate oxide layer is subsequently removed as part of a RMGprocess, the formation of the first silicon oxide layer 162A (e.g., SiONlayer) serves to chemically treat the surface of the SiGe channel region126 of the semiconductor substrate 110 in such a way as to enable theformation of a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer on the SiGe channelregion 126 using essentially the same RTA oxynitridation process thatwas used to form the first silicon oxide layer 162A, but wherein theresulting silicon oxide interfacial layer is substantially devoid ofGeO_(x) and nitrogen.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of the invention, the second siliconoxide layer 164A comprises a silicon oxide material (e.g., such assilicon dioxide) which is deposited on top of the first silicon oxidelayer 162A using a deposition process such as ALD (atomic layerdeposition) or CVD. The second silicon oxide layer 164A is formed with athickness in a range of about 1 nm to about 5 nm. It is to be understoodthat the second silicon oxide layer 164A is an optional layer that maybe formed to serve as an etch buffer layer during a dry plasma etch(e.g. RIE (Reactive Ion Etch)) that is performed in a subsequent etchprocess to pattern the polysilicon layer 166A and form a dummy gate polylayer 166 (FIG. 4).

The polysilicon layer 166A comprises a polycrystalline silicon materialthat is deposited using known methods such as CVD, physical vapordeposition (PVD), electro-chemical deposition, and other suitabledeposition methods. In one embodiment, the polysilicon layer 166A isdeposited with a thickness in a range of about 30 nm to about 100 nm.The stack of layers 162A, 164A, and 166A is patterned to form a dummygate structure using an etch process flow as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In particular, FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 3 after patterning the polysilicon layer166A to form a dummy poly gate layer 166 of the dummy gate structure160. In one embodiment, the polysilicon layer 166A is patterned using astandard photolithography process, which comprises forming a photoresistmask 170 to cover a portion of the polysilicon layer 166A which definesa target footprint of the dummy poly gate layer 166, followed by a dryetch process (e.g., RIE) to anisotropically etch away the regions of thepolysilicon layer 166A exposed through the photoresist mask 170,resulting in the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 4. The poly etchprocess is performed selective to the oxide material of the underlyingsecond silicon oxide layer 164A, so that the second silicon oxide layer164A serves as an etch stop and buffer layer to prevent the poly etchprocess from etching though the first silicon oxide layer 162A anddamaging the semiconductor material of the SiGe channel region 126.

In particular, in the absence of the second silicon oxide layer 164A,since the first silicon oxide layer 162A is very thin, there is somechance that the poly etch process would result in etching through theexposed portion of the first silicon oxide layer 162A into the SiGechannel region 126, which is undesirable. In this regard, the secondsilicon oxide layer 164A, which is deposited on top of the first siliconoxide layer 162A, serves as a buffer etch stop layer to prevent damageto the material of the SiGe channel region 126 in the event of an overetching of the poly etch process.

Next, FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 4 after etching the exposed portions ofthe first and second silicon oxide layers 162A and 164A using the dummygate poly layer 166 as an etch mask to form dummy oxide layers 162 and164. This oxide etch process results in the formation of the dummy gatestructure 160 on top of a portion of the SiGe channel 126 of thesemiconductor substrate 110, as shown in FIG. 5. In this process, theoxide materials of the first and second silicon oxide layers 162A and164A are etched highly selective to the materials of the dummy poly gatelayer 166, and the SiGe channel region 126.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 5 after forming the first and second source/drainregions 122 and 124 in areas of the semiconductor substrate 110 adjacentto the dummy gate structure 160. The first and second source/drainregions 122 and 124 can be formed by doping the surface of thesemiconductor substrate 110 using ion implantation techniques. Inparticular, the source/drain regions 122 and 124 can be formed by dopingthe exposed surface portions of the active layer of the semiconductorsubstrate 110 with Group III elements (for P-type FET devices) or GroupV elements (for N-type FET devices). Typical dopants include Boron,Arsenic, Phosphorus, Gallium, Antimony, etc. For example, boron is ap-type dopant, whereas phosphorus is an n-type dopant. It is to beunderstood that the term “source/drain region” as used herein means thata given source/drain region can be either a source region or a drainregion, depending on the application. For example, in one embodiment,the first source/drain region 122 is a drain region, and the secondsource/drain region 124 is a source region, and vice versa. It is to beunderstood that the first and second source/drain regions 122 and 124are generically depicted in FIG. 6, and that the first and second sourcedrain regions 122 and 124 can be formed with one of a myriad ofdifferent types of profiles/structures (e.g., Halo regions, extendedregions, lightly doped/heavily doped regions, etc.)

Next, FIG. 7 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 6 after forming the insulating spacers 140 on thesidewalls of the dummy gate structure 160. The insulating spacers 140can be fabricated using known methods. For example, the insulatingspacers 140 can be fabricated by depositing a conformal layer ofinsulating material, such as silicon nitride, over the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 6 to conformally cover the dummy gate structure 160with the insulating material (e.g., SiN). The conformal layer ofinsulating material is then photolithographically patterned or otherwiseanisotropically etched (e.g., directional RIE etch) to remove theconformal layer of insulating material from the surface of thesemiconductor substrate 110 (to expose the source/drain regions 122 and124), while leaving insulating material on the sidewalls of the gatestructures 160 to form the sidewall spacers 140. Although notspecifically shown in FIG. 7, the conformal layer of insulating materialcan be patterned to leave a thin capping layer on the top surface of thedummy gate structure 160 to prevent formation of a silicide layer on theupper surface of the dummy poly gate layer 166 during a subsequentsalicidation process to form the silicide layers 122-1 and 124-1, asshown in FIG. 8.

In particular, FIG. 8 is schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 7 after forming the silicide layers122-1 and 124-1 on the first and second source/drain regions 122 and124, respectively. The silicide layers 122-1 and 124-1 can be formedusing known techniques. For example, a layer of metallic material isconformally deposited over the semiconductor structure of FIG. 7 usingALD or other suitable deposition methods (e.g., PVD, CVD, etc.). Thelayer of metallic material can include a transition metal such as nickel(Ni), cobalt (Co), titanium (Ti), platinum (Pt), tungsten (W), tantalum(Ta), an alloy such as TiAl or TiN, etc., or any other suitable metallicmaterial. Prior to deposition of the layer of metallic material, apreclean process can be performed to remove any surface impurities oroxides from the exposed surfaces of the source/drain regions 122 and124. A thermal anneal process is then performed at an appropriatetemperature to induce a reaction between the semiconductor material ofthe source/drain regions 122 and 124 and the metallic material to formthe silicide layers 122-1 and 124-1 on the respective source/drainregions 122 and 124. Following the formation of the silicide layers122-1 and 124-1, the remaining unreacted metallic material is removedusing a wet etch process, resulting in the semiconductor structure shownin FIG. 8.

Next, FIG. 9 is schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 8 after depositing and planarizing a layer ofinsulating material to form the PMD layer 150 (or ILD (interleveldielectric layer)). In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, theplanarizing process is performed to planarize the surface of thesemiconductor structure down to the upper surface of the dummy gatestructure 160. The insulating layer 150 can be formed of a dielectricmaterial including, but not limited to, silicon oxide (e.g. SiO₂),silicon nitride (e.g., (Si₃N₄), hydrogenated silicon carbon oxide(SiCOH), SiCH, SiCNH, or other types of silicon based low-k dielectrics(e.g., k less than about 4.0), porous dielectrics, or known ULK(ultra-low-k) dielectric materials (with k less than about 2.5). Theinsulating layer 150 may be deposited using known deposition techniques,such as, for example, ALD, CVD, PECVD (plasma-enhanced CVD), or PVD, orspin-on deposition.

A next phase of the semiconductor fabrication process comprisesperforming a replacement metal gate process as schematically illustratedin FIGS. 10, 11, 12, and 13. In particular, as a first step of thereplacement metal gate process, FIG. 10 is schematic cross-sectionalside view of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 9 after removing thedummy gate structure 160 to form a recess 160-1 between the insulatingsidewall spacers 140, which exposes a surface 126-1 of the SiGe channelregion 126 at a bottom of the recess 160-1. In one embodiment, the dummygate structure 160 can be removed by performing a wet etch processusing, e.g., a TetraMethyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH) chemical etchsolution, to etch away the dummy poly gate layer 166 selective to theinsulating materials (e.g., SiO₂, Si₃N₄, hafnium silicon oxynitride(HfSiON)) of the surrounding layers and features (e.g., 150, 140, 164,162). The remaining first and second dummy oxide layers 162 and 164 ofthe dummy gate structure 160 are then removed using an oxide etchprocess, which is selective to the insulating materials (e.g., SiN) ofthe insulating sidewall spacers 140, and selective to the SiGe materialof the portion of the SiGe channel region 126 exposed at the bottom ofthe recess 160-1.

After removing the dummy gate structure 160, the metal gate structure130 (FIG. 1) is formed by a process that is schematically illustrated inFIGS. 11, 12 and 13. For example, as an initial step, FIG. 11 isschematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 10 after forming the silicon oxide interfacial layer 132 on theexposed surface 126-1 of the SiGe channel region 126. In one embodimentof the invention, the silicon oxide interfacial layer 132 comprises apure SiO₂ interfacial layer which is formed using the same or similaroxynitridation RTA process used to form the dummy gate oxide layer 162of the dummy gate structure 160. For example, the silicon oxideinterfacial layer 132 comprises a reacted layer that is formed byperforming a first RTA process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprisingammonia (NH₃), at a volumetric flow rate of about 5 slm, at atemperature in a range of about 600° C. to about 800° C., for a periodof about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, and at a pressure in a range ofabout 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. The first RTA process is followed by asecond RTA process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen (e.g.,O₂ at a volumetric flow rate of about 1 slm, and N₂ at a volumetric flowrate of about 9 slm), at a temperature in a range of about 600° C. toabout 800° C., for a period of about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, andat a pressure in a range of about 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. Thesilicon oxide interfacial layer 132 is formed with a thickness in arange of about 5 angstroms to about 20 angstroms.

While the initial oxynitridation RTA process resulted in the formationof the first (dummy) silicon oxide layer 162A (FIG. 3) comprising SiON,the second oxynitridation RTA process (FIG. 11) results in the formationa pure silicon dioxide (SiO₂) interfacial layer that is substantiallydevoid of GeO_(x) and nitrogen. As noted above, the initialoxynitridation RTA process used to form the SiON silicon oxide layer162A (for the dummy gate structure 160) serves to chemically treat thesurface 126-1 of the SiGe channel region 126 of the semiconductorsubstrate 110 in such a way as to enable the formation of a pure siliconoxide interfacial layer 132 on the surface 126-1 of the SiGe channelregion 126 using essentially the same RTA oxynitridation process thatwas used to form the first silicon oxide layer 162A, but wherein theresulting silicon oxide interfacial layer 132 is substantially devoid ofGeO_(x) and nitrogen.

After forming the silicon oxide interfacial layer 132, the processcontinues with forming the high-k metal gate stack structure 134/146 andthe metal gate electrode layer 138 of the metal gate structure 130 shownin FIG. 1. For example, FIG. 12 is schematic cross-sectional side viewof the semiconductor structure of FIG. 11 after depositing a conformallayer of gate dielectric material 134A and a conformal layer of workfunction metal 136A, which are subsequently patterned to form the high-kmetal gate stack structure 134/136 of the gate structure 130 (FIG. 1).Further, FIG. 13 is schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 12 after depositing a layer of metallicmaterial 138A to fill the recess 160-1 between the insulating sidewallspacers 140, which is subsequently patterned to form the metal gateelectrode layer 138 of the gate structure 130 (FIG. 1).

In one embodiment, the conformal layer of gate dielectric material 134Ais formed, for example, by depositing one or more conformal layers ofdielectric material over the surface of the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 11. The type of dielectric material(s) used to form the conformallayer of gate dielectric material 134A will vary depending on theapplication. For example, the conformal layer of gate dielectricmaterial 134A may comprise, e.g., nitride, oxynitride, or oxide orhigh-k materials (having a k-value greater than about 4). For example,the gate dielectric material may include a high-k dielectric materialsuch as Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, Y₂O₃, L₂O₃, SrTiO₃, LaAlO₃, orhafnium-based materials such as HfO₂, HfSiO_(x), HfSiON and HfAlO_(x),or combinations of such dielectric materials. In one embodiment of theinvention, the conformal layer of gate dielectric material 134A isformed with a thickness in a range of about 0.5 nm to about 2.5 nm,which will vary depending on the target application. Further, theconformal layer of work function metal 136A may comprise one or more of,for example, Zr, W, Ta, Hf, Ti, Al, Ru, Pa, metal oxides, metalcarbides, metal nitrides, transition metal aluminides (e.g. Ti₃Al,ZrAl), TaC, TiC, TaMgC, or any combination thereof. The conformal layers134A and 136A are deposited using known methods such as ALD, CVD, orPVD, for example. Moreover, the layer of metallic material 138A mayinclude a metallic material such as W, Al, Cu, or any metallic orconductive material that is commonly used to form gate electrode layersfor FET devices.

Following the deposition of the layer of metallic material 138A, thesemiconductor structure shown in FIG. 13 is planarized down to theinsulating layer 150 using a planarization process such as CMP to removethe overburden material of the deposited layers 134A, 136A, and 138A,resulting in the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 1. Thereafter,any suitable sequence of processing steps can be implemented to completethe fabrication of n-type and/or p-type FET devices and other elementsof a semiconductor integrated circuit being fabricated as part of theFEOL layer, the details of which are not needed to understandembodiments of the invention. Moreover, a MOL (middle of the line)process is performed to form conductive via contacts in the PMD layer150 (and one or more other layers of insulating material that may beformed over the PMD layer 150). The via contacts are formed by etchingopenings in the PMD layer 150 (and any overlying insulating layer) toexpose portions of the silicide layers 122-1 and 124-1 of thesource/drain regions 122 and 124, and the metal gate electrode layer138, and then filling the openings with a conductive material to formthe device contacts in the PMD layer. Following formation of the MOLdevice contacts, a BEOL (back end of line) interconnect structure isformed using well known fabrication process flows to provide connectionsbetween the FET devices and other active or passive devices that areformed as part of the FEOL layer.

It is to be understood that the methods discussed herein for formingpure silicon oxide interfacial layers for metal gate structures can beimplemented with planar FET structures as discussed above, as well as3-D FET structures such as FinFET structures and nanowire FETstructures, etc. For example, FIGS. 14A and 14B schematically illustratea semiconductor device comprising a SiGe-channel FinFET device accordingto another embodiment of the invention. In particular, FIGS. 14A and 14Bare schematic views of a semiconductor device 200 comprising aSiGe-channel FinFET device formed on a semiconductor substrate. FIG. 14Ais a schematic side view of the semiconductor device 200, and FIG. 14Bis a schematic cross-sectional view of the semiconductor device 200taken along line 14B-14B in FIG. 14A. More specifically, FIG. 14A is aschematic side view of the semiconductor device 200 in a X-Z plane, andFIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor device 200 in aY-Z plane, as indicated by the respective XYZ Cartesian coordinatesshown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. It is to be understood that the term“vertical” or “vertical direction” as used herein denotes a Z-directionof the Cartesian coordinates shown in the drawings, and the term“horizontal” or “horizontal direction” as used herein denotes anX-direction and/or Y-direction of the Cartesian coordinates shown in thedrawings.

As collectively shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the semiconductor device 200comprises a substrate 210/212, which comprises a bulk substrate layer210 and an insulating layer 212 (e.g., a buried oxide layer of an SOIsubstrate), and a FinFET device 220. The FinFET device 220 comprises avertical semiconductor fin 226 (which extends along the substrate210/212 in an X direction as shown), a metal gate structure 230,insulating sidewall spacers 240, and an insulating capping layer 245.The FinFET device 220 is encapsulated in an insulating layer 250 (e.g.,PMD layer of a MOL layer). The metal gate structure 230 comprises asilicon oxide interfacial layer 232, a high-k metal gate stack structure234/236 (comprising a gate dielectric layer 234 and work function metallayer 226), and a metal gate electrode layer 238.

The vertical semiconductor fin 226 provides a vertical channel for theFinFET device 220 along a portion of the vertical semiconductor fin 226which is encapsulated/surrounded by the metal gate structure 230. In oneembodiment, the vertical semiconductor fin 226 is formed of SiGesemiconductor material. The vertical semiconductor fin 226 can be formedby etching/patterning an active SiGe layer that is formed on top of theinsulating layer 212. In another embodiment, the vertical semiconductorfin 226 can be formed by patterning a SiGe layer formed on a bulksemiconductor substrate. In yet another embodiment, the verticalsemiconductor fin 226 may be formed by depositing a layer of insulatingmaterial on top of a semiconductor substrate, patterning the layer ofinsulating material to form a trench in the insulating material whichcorresponds to the pattern of the vertical semiconductor fin to befabricated, and then performing a bottom-up epitaxial growth process togrow epitaxial SiGe semiconductor material within the trench to form thevertical semiconductor fin 226. In one example embodiment of theinvention, the vertical semiconductor fin 226 is formed with a verticalheight in a range of about 25 nm to about 30 nm.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the vertical semiconductor fin 226comprises epitaxial source/drain regions (e.g., drain region (D) andsource region (S) as depicted in FIG. 14A) which are epitaxially grownon the portions of the vertical semiconductor fin 226 that extend fromthe insulating sidewall spacers 240 of the metal gate structure 230.

The semiconductor device 200 further comprises a plurality of verticalcontacts 260, 262, 264, which include a drain contact 260, a sourcecontact 262, and a gate contact 264. The source and drain contacts 260and 262 are formed in openings that are etched through the insulatinglayer 250 down to the respective drain (D) and source (S) regions of thevertical semiconductor fin 226. The gate contact 264 is formed throughthe gate capping layer 245 to contact the metal gate electrode layer 238of the metal gate structure 230. The contacts 260, 262, 264 may beconsidered MOL device contacts that are formed as part of the MOL layerof the semiconductor device 200 to provide vertical contacts to theFinFET 220. Each MOL device contact may comprise a liner/barrier layerand a conductive via, as is known in the art. Silicide layers can beformed on source/drain regions of the vertical semiconductor fin 226 toprovide ohmic contacts between the vertical semiconductor fin 226 andthe vertical contacts 260 and 262.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the metal gatestructure 230 is formed as part of a RMG process flow that is used forfabricating the FinFET device 220. In one embodiment, the RMG processflow for fabricating the FinFET device 220 implements the same orsimilar RMG methods discussed above for fabricating the planar FETstructure. For example, a dummy gate structure is initially formed overthe portion of the vertical semiconductor fin structure 226 which servesas the vertical channel. As part of this process, the surface of theSiGe vertical semiconductor fin 226 is treated by performing an initialRTA oxynitridation process to grow a conformal SiON dummy gate oxidelayer over the surface of the SiGe vertical semiconductor fin 226. Inone embodiment, the initial RTA oxynitridation process comprises a firstRTA process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising ammonia (NH₃), at avolumetric flow rate of about 5 slm, at a temperature in a range ofabout 600° C. to about 800° C., for a period of about 10 seconds toabout 60 seconds, and at a pressure in a range of about 100 Torr toabout 760 Torr. The first RTA process is followed by a second RTAprocess in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen (e.g., O₂ at avolumetric flow rate of about 1 slm, and N₂ at a volumetric flow rate ofabout 9 slm), at a temperature in a range of about 600° C. to about 800°C., for a period of about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, and at apressure in a range of about 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. The RTAoxynitridation process results in the formation of a reacted SiONinterfacial layer formed over the surface of the SiGe semiconductor fin226.

The dummy gate structure is completed by depositing an optionalconformal silicon oxide layer over the dummy gate oxide layer,depositing a polysilicon layer, and then patterning the dummy gate oxidelayers and polysilicon layer for form a dummy gate structure over theportion of the SiGe vertical semiconductor fin 226 which will serve asthe vertical channel of the FinFET device 220. After forming thesidewall spacers 240 and the epitaxial source (S) and drain (D) regionson the extended portions of the vertical semiconductor fin 226, thedummy gate structure is removed, and replaced with the metal gatestructure 230 shown in FIGS. 14A/14B.

With this process, the silicon oxide interfacial layer 232 isconformally grown on the sidewall and upper surfaces of the portion ofthe SiGe vertical semiconductor fin 226 exposed within the regionbetween the insulating sidewall spacers 240. As with the exemplarymethods discussed above, in one embodiment of the invention, the siliconoxide interfacial layer 232 comprises a pure SiO₂ interfacial layerwhich is formed using the same or similar RTA oxynitridation processused to form the SiON dummy gate oxide layer. For example, the siliconoxide interfacial layer 232 comprises a reacted layer that is formed byperforming a first RTA process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprisingammonia (NH₃), at a volumetric flow rate of about 5 slm, at atemperature in a range of about 600° C. to about 800° C., for a periodof about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, and at a pressure in a range ofabout 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. The first RTA process is followed by asecond RTA process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen (e.g.,O₂ at a volumetric flow rate of about 1 slm, and N₂ at a volumetric flowrate of about 9 slm), at a temperature in a range of about 600° C. toabout 800° C., for a period of about 10 seconds to about 60 seconds, andat a pressure in a range of about 100 Torr to about 760 Torr. Thesilicon oxide interfacial layer 232 is formed with a thickness in arange of about 5 angstroms to about 20 angstroms. While the initial RTAoxynitridation RTA process results in the formation of a dummy oxidelayer comprising SiON, the second RTA oxynitridation process results inthe formation a pure silicon dioxide interfacial layer 232 that issubstantially devoid of GeO_(x) and nitrogen.

It is to be noted that the formation of a pure silicon dioxideinterfacial layer (for metal gate structures of FET devices) using RTAoxynitridation techniques as discussed herein provide unexpectedresults. It is believed that the initial formation of the dummy SiONlayer (using a first RTA oxynitridation process) chemically modifies thesurface of the SiGe channel material in a way which prevents the bondingof Ge/O atoms and the bonding of Ge/N atoms during the second RTAoxynitridation process which is performed (as part of the RMG process)to form the silicon oxide interfacial layer (e.g., layer 132 of FIG. 1,and layer 232 of FIGS. 14A/14B) on the surface treated SiGe channelmaterial. In particular, it is believed that the initial RTAoxynitridation process (which grows the dummy SiON layer) makes thesurface of the SiGe channel region silicon-rich, which changes thebinding energy of the silicon (of the silicon-rich surface) to nitrogenand to oxygen. In particular, the initial RTA oxynitridation process isbelieved to treat the surface of the SiGe channel region in a way thatsignificantly increases the binding energy of silicon-to-nitrogen andthe binding energy of silicon-to-oxygen, such that the second RTAoxynitridation process to form the silicon oxide interfacial layer doesnot result in the bonding of the silicon atoms (at the silicon-richsurface of the SiGe channel layer) to nitrogen or oxygen atom, therebyresulting in the formation of a pure silicon oxide interfacial layerthat is devoid of GeO_(x) and N.

These unexpected results have been confirmed through actual experiments.For example, the formation of a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer ona SiGe layer, which is devoid of GeO_(x) and N, has been validatedthrough the fabrication of metal gate structures and analysis of thefabricated structures using TEM (transmission electron microscopy)imaging in conjunction with EELS (electron energy loss spectroscopy)analysis. Furthermore, experimental results have shown that theformation of a pure silicon oxide interfacial layer on a SiGe channellayer of a FET device (as part of a RMG process as discussed herein)provides enhanced improvement in subthreshold slope (SS) and holemobility for SiGe-channel FET devices with high Ge content (up to 70% Gecontent).

In particular, experimental results have shown that SiGe-channel FETdevices formed using RMG methods as discussed herein result in theformation of FET devices with a long channel subthreshold slope below 70mV/dec, which is close to the ideal subthreshold slope of 60 mV/dec (atroom temperature (300 K)) for CMOS FET devices. Moreover, experimentalresults have shown that SiGe-channel FET devices formed using RMGmethods as discussed herein can achieve a hole mobility in a range of250 (cm²/V*s) and higher for high-Ge-content SiGe channels, whileobtaining an EOT (equivalent oxide thickness) of about 0.7 nm for acomposite gate dielectric stack that includes a pure silicon oxideinterfacial layer and a high-k gate dielectric layer (e.g., HfO₂).

It is to be understood that the methods discussed herein for fabricatingRMG Si—Ge-channel FET devices can be incorporated within semiconductorprocessing flows for fabricating other types of semiconductor devicesand integrated circuits with various analog and digital circuitry ormixed-signal circuitry. In particular, integrated circuit dies can befabricated with various devices such as field-effect transistors,bipolar transistors, metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors, diodes,capacitors, inductors, etc. An integrated circuit in accordance with thepresent invention can be employed in applications, hardware, and/orelectronic systems. Suitable hardware and systems for implementing theinvention may include, but are not limited to, personal computers,communication networks, electronic commerce systems, portablecommunications devices (e.g., cell phones), solid-state media storagedevices, functional circuitry, etc. Systems and hardware incorporatingsuch integrated circuits are considered part of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Given the teachings of the invention provided herein,one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to contemplate otherimplementations and applications of the techniques of the invention.

Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with referenceto the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various otherchanges and modifications may be made therein by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device,comprising: growing a first silicon oxide layer on a surface region of asilicon-germanium (SiGe) layer using a first oxynitridation process,wherein the first silicon oxide layer comprises nitrogen; removing thefirst silicon oxide layer from the surface region of the SiGe layer; andgrowing a second silicon oxide layer on the surface region of the SiGelayer using a second oxynitridation process, wherein the second siliconoxide layer is substantially devoid of germanium oxide and nitrogen,wherein the first oxynitridation process is configured to chemicallytreat the surface region of the SiGe layer in a way which prevents theformation of germanium oxide, and which prevents the incorporation ofnitrogen within the second silicon oxide layer, during growth of thesecond silicon oxide layer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein growingthe first silicon oxide layer on the surface region of the SiGe layercomprises growing a silicon oxynitride (SiON) layer on a SiGe channellayer of a FET (field effect transistor) device.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein growing the second silicon oxide layer on the surface regionof the SiGe layer comprises growing a silicon dioxide layer on the SiGechannel layer of the FET device.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein theFET device comprises a planar FET device.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein the FET device comprises a three-dimensional FET device.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising forming a high-k dielectric layeron the second silicon oxide layer, wherein k is greater than
 4. 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first oxynitridation process is performedby a process comprising: performing a first rapid thermal anneal processin a gas mixture atmosphere comprising ammonia (NH₃) at a firsttemperature; and performing a second rapid thermal anneal process in agas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen (O₂) at a second temperature.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second oxynitridation process isthe same as the first oxynitridation process.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the SiGe layer comprises a Ge content in a range of about 20% toabout 70%.
 10. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device,comprising: chemically treating a surface of a silicon-germanium (SiGe)layer; and growing a silicon oxide layer on the chemically treatedsurface of the SiGe layer, wherein the chemically treated surface of theSiGe layer is configured to prevent formation of germanium oxide andprevent incorporation of nitrogen within the silicon oxide layer duringthe growth of the silicon oxide layer such that the silicon oxide layeris substantially devoid of germanium oxide and nitrogen.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein chemically treating the surface of the SiGe layercomprises: growing a first silicon oxide layer on the surface of theSiGe layer using a first oxynitridation process, wherein the firstsilicon oxide layer comprises nitrogen, wherein the growth of the firstsilicon oxide layer using the first oxynitridation process serves tochemically treat the surface of the SiGe layer; and removing the firstsilicon oxide layer to expose the chemically treated surface of the SiGelayer.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first oxynitridationprocess comprises performing a first rapid thermal anneal process in agas mixture atmosphere comprising ammonia at a first temperature, andperforming a second rapid thermal anneal process in a gas mixtureatmosphere comprising oxygen at a second temperature.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein growing the silicon oxide layer on the chemicallytreated surface of the SiGe layer comprises using a secondoxynitridation process to grow the silicon oxide layer.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein the second oxynitridation process is the same orsimilar to the first oxynitridation process.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the second oxynitridation process comprises performing a firstrapid thermal anneal process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprisingammonia at a first temperature, and performing a second rapid thermalanneal process in a gas mixture atmosphere comprising oxygen at a secondtemperature.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the silicon oxide layercomprises a silicon dioxide layer.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinthe silicon dioxide layer is grown to a thickness in a range of about 5angstroms to about 20 angstroms.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein thesilicon dioxide layer comprises an interfacial silicon dioxide layer ofa gate dielectric of a transistor device.
 19. The method of claim 18,further comprising: forming a high-k dielectric layer on the silicondioxide layer, wherein k is greater than 4; and forming a metal gateelectrode layer over the high-k dielectric layer.
 20. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the SiGe layer comprises a Ge content in a range ofabout 20% to about 70%.